Part of You
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: Mobians are basically advanced animals, right? Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna... but are there some extra animal traits in their systems? Hedgecat and Echidog just don't have a ring to them, do they? Just a silly fic (slightly AU Sonic Boom universe)


It was just a usual day for Sonic and Knuckles. They were playing video games, as they always did when they spent time together.

Sonic chuckled to himself. "I dunno why I always pick the cat character. Maybe because I—"  
His voice trailed off, a light blush coming to his cheeks. Maybe Knuckles wasn't listening to him? He hoped so.  
"Hm?" Knuckles looked up. "Because you what?" he asked curiously.  
"Ah, nothin'," Sonic said quickly, though it was clear he just wanted to be away from the subject.  
Knuckles raised a brow in slight confusion, but otherwise said nothing. His focus quickly returned to the game.  
 _Good. He didn't ask._ Sonic mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

A couple of minutes later, Knuckles had beaten Sonic in the current round of their game.  
"Aw yeah!" He grinned victoriously and pumped a fist in the air. Then he realized that his tail had started to wag a little. He blushed sheepishly, mentally commanding his tail to stop and hoping Sonic hadn't noticed.  
Sonic blinked, having barely been paying attention. "Oh, ah… shoot, I lost," he mumbled, so out of it that he didn't care too much.  
Knuckles raised a brow. "Uh… you okay?"  
"Huh?" Sonic blushed slightly. "Y-yeah, why?"  
 _Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask!_  
"You're just kinda… distracted, I guess," Knuckles replied. "…is something wrong?"  
"…Nothing's wrong, nah," Sonic said, gripping is controller a little tighter.  
Knuckles wasn't convinced for even a moment. "You sure?"  
"Yeah, uh, just I accidentally slipped somethin' is all," Sonic admitted, hoping that it'd satisfy Knuckles' curiosity.  
Knuckles just looked confused. "Huh? Slipped what?"  
Sonic waved a hand dismissively. "N-nothing! Nothing at all!"  
Knuckles gave him a deadpan stare. "Sonic, I hate to break it to you, but… well… you're not a very good liar."  
Sonic paused, then sighed. "Yeah. Guess I'm not, huh?"  
He pouted. "You really wanna know?"  
Knuckles nodded.  
Sonic thought for a moment, then smirked, though a bit weakly. "Okay, but you have to tell me something about you too after I tell you!"  
"S-sure, okay," Knuckles replied, a little nervous.  
Sonic took a deep breath, then gazed up at him shyly. "I'm, uh, part cat…"  
Knuckles' eyes went wide in surprise. "Whoa, really?"  
Sonic blushed. "Ah, yeah. I never told anyone because, uh…" His blush grew a little redder.  
Knuckles tilted his head. "Because what?" he asked, softening his voice a little.  
Sonic backed away slightly, mumbling something under his breath.  
"Huh? S-sorry, I didn't catch that."  
"…I purr," Sonic mumbled louder. "My mom used to pet me and I'd purr."

Knuckles was silent for a moment. Then he smiled sheepishly. "C-can…can I hear you purr?" he asked quietly, blushing.  
"W-wha?" Sonic blushed redder. "I-it's kinda… soft and not… uh, Sonic-y though."  
"Aw come on, I wanna hear it," Knuckles replied. " _Pleeeeeeease?_ " He was giving Sonic the "puppy dog eyes" now, though he didn't realize he was doing it.  
Sonic stammered at the 'eyes' Knuckles was giving him; now there was no way he could say no.  
"E-erm, well… someone would have to pet me for me to purr," Sonic told him.  
"C-can I… pet you…?" Knuckles asked, blushing shyly. After all, that wasn't something you normally asked someone.  
Sonic became more nervous at the request, but nodded. "I-I guess… just don't tell anyone, got it?"  
Knuckles nodded, understanding. He hesitated a moment, then reached over nervously. He began to gently scratch Sonic's head.  
Instantly, Sonic's ears perked, and he slowly relaxes against Knuckles' touch. It took a second, but a purr managed to rumble out of his throat. He was embarrassed, but too relaxed to pull away.  
Knuckles smiled. He started to giggle softly. He moved his hand down, now scratching closer to Sonic's ears.  
The purring got louder, with Sonic unconsciously rubbing against Knuckles' hand. "M-mmn…"  
Knuckles giggled even more. _Awww, that's so cute!_

Sonic was thankful that it was only Knuckles who was petting him; anyone else would've been too embarrassing.  
But wait… why was that? Tails was his best friend, so…  
He already knew the reason though; he had a crush on Knuckles. The close contact was actually really nice from him.

Knuckles, meanwhile, was enjoying petting Sonic. Even though it was kind of weird to be petting his friend, Sonic's purr was both cute and actually rather soothing to the echidna.  
He was also flattered that Sonic had let him do this in the first place, since he probably wouldn't have let anyone else do it. And of course, he liked having a good excuse to be affectionate towards his crush.

Sonic continued purring until he suddenly remembered something, causing him to grab Knuckles' hand to get him to stop. "So, what's your secret then?" he asked.  
"O-oh, r-right…" Knuckles had almost forgotten!  
"I, um…okay, so here's the thing…I'm actually part dog," he admitted quietly.  
"Huh, really?" Sonic asked. Thinking about it, it actually made a little sense to him.  
"Y-yeah. A-and sometimes, when I get excited or happy about stuff… m-my tail kinda wags… I-I try to make it not do that, but sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it, and then I get all embarrassed and hope nobody saw it…" Knuckles' face had turned pink as he admitted this.  
"You do?"  
Sonic paused, then suddenly got a big devious smirk on his face. "Is that right?"  
"U-uh…yeah?" Sonic's smirk was making Knuckles a little nervous…  
It was payback time.  
Sonic raised his hand, placing it on Knuckles' head and gently petting him, eyeing his tail on occasion to see if it was working.  
Knuckles blushed badly, only able to stammer nervously. He instinctively tried to keep his tail from moving, but it was no use.  
Sonic giggled almost childishly at seeing Knuckles' tail wag. Okay, even _he_ had to admit that it was a pretty cute sight.  
Knuckles gave up trying to control his tail as it showed how much he was enjoying the close contact from Sonic. His cheeks were getting warmer and warmer as he became increasingly flustered.  
Sonic chuckled. "Your face is all red!"  
"I-I guess it matches the rest of me t-then…" Knuckles chuckled sheepishly.  
"Guess so!"  
Sonic was more than amused, but decided to let Knuckles off easy and stopped petting him.  
Still though… he kinda wished he could get pet again; there was no way he'd ask for it though.  
Knuckles' tail finally stopped wagging as soon as the petting had stopped. As embarrassed as he was, part of him kind of wanted Sonic to do it again…

"Guess we're both part-somethin', huh?" Sonic asked with a grin.  
Knuckles smiled softly. "Huh, guess we are."  
"What are the odds?" Sonic laughed a little.  
"I know, right?" Knuckles laughed too.  
"Maybe we were meant to become part-something friends!"  
Knuckles nodded, smiling.  
 _But I kinda wish we could be more than that…_

Unknown to Knuckles, Sonic was thinking the same thing. The blue hedgehog's ear twitched, then he looked outside.  
"Looks like a storm," he said. "Guess ya shouldn't go out there with it like that."  
"Yeah, guess not…" To be honest, Knuckles didn't mind. It just meant that he got to spend more time with Sonic.  
"Don't have a bunch of blankets though," Sonic mused, looking over at his hammock. "Not like there's a lot of places for sleeping."  
"Hmmm…" Knuckles put a hand to his chin in thought. He blushed when he realized that there was another way they could do this, but he was too nervous to suggest it…  
Sonic noticed his sudden frazzled state. "Hm? What's up, Knux?"  
"O-oh, it's nothing," Knuckles said quickly. He cleared his throat nervously. "S-so, um… w-where can I sleep?"  
"Hmm… good question," Sonic said. He went over to the blankets, then pulled one up, only to realize that there was just one. "O-oh, uh…"  
"W-what's wrong?" Knuckles asked.  
Sonic shuddered slightly, the coldness of the rain starting to radiate throughout the shack. "There's… only one blanket," he explained.  
"O-oh." Knuckles hesitated. "W-well, m-maybe we could sh-share? I-I mean, u-um…"  
Sonic's ears perked. At first, he stammered a little, but then merely chuckled. "…Sure."  
Knuckles quietly let out the breath he realized he'd been holding. At least Sonic seemed okay with the idea.  
"So, erm… do we just both get on the hammock then?" Sonic asked.  
"I-is that okay?" Knuckles asked in reply.  
Sonic nodded, trying to remain 'cool'. "Y-yeah, why wouldn't it be?"  
"O-oh, j-just making sure, ya know?" Knuckles replied, chuckling awkwardly.  
Sonic chuckled. "I-it's alright."  
He hesitated, then climbed onto the hammock. Knuckles climbed on next to him, hoping that his friend couldn't see how badly he was blushing. Sonic turned away from him for the same reason, offering him the other side of the blanket.  
"Uh, here…"  
"T-thanks." Knuckles pulled the warm blanket over himself. He was tempted to snuggle up to Sonic, but he restrained himself, figuring that Sonic wouldn't like that very much.

Sonic was the first to fall asleep. Only a few minutes after he had, he rolled over suddenly, barreling right into Knuckles' chest.  
Knuckles' face instantly became flushed. If he wasn't currently lying on his back, his tail would've started wagging again. He was embarrassed, but… it was actually pretty nice.  
He hesitated a moment. Then slowly, so as not to wake Sonic, he moved a hand over to Sonic's head. He began to lightly scratch behind Sonic's ears, wondering if he could get him to purr again.  
Sonic twitched a little at Knuckles' touch, but relaxed almost immediately after. His voice murmured out, but came across as slightly softer than usual.  
"Mama…?"  
Knuckles stopped suddenly. _Did he just…?_  
It was cute, he had to admit, but it also made him sad; even though he didn't know what exactly had happened to Sonic's mother, he knew that she wasn't around for him anymore. Was that part of why Sonic didn't usually like being pet–because it made him think of his mother?  
Sonic buried his face in Knuckles' fur, making a small purring sound, though it was mixed with a whine.  
"Feeling… weird… mm…"  
Knuckles was flustered by the close contact, but was also growing a bit concerned. _Maybe I shouldn't have done that…_  
"…around… friend… dunno what to… do…"  
Sonic gripped a patch of Knuckles' fur, curling up against him further. His voice grew quiet, but still audible enough for Knuckles to hear.  
"D-don't…don't tell Knuckles… that I… like 'im like that, okay?"  
Knuckles' heart seemed to stop for a moment. Had…had he heard that right? Did Sonic just…?  
"Don't want 'im to… think I'm weird," Sonic said softly.  
 _Aw, I don't think you're weird!_ Knuckles wanted to say. But he didn't want to wake (and probably embarrass) Sonic, so he stayed quiet.  
After a small silence, Sonic seemed to be lulled into a deep sleep, though still clung to Knuckles.  
Knuckles smiled softly. Then he yawned. Watching Sonic sleep was making him sleepy, too.  
As he fell asleep, he wondered how he would tell Sonic that he liked him back.

Sonic woke up sometime in the morning, a little earlier than Knuckles. He blushed, realizing the position he was in; maybe Knuckles didn't know?  
Still, he found himself simply too comfortable to leave, so he snuggled close; if Knuckles woke up, maybe he could pretend to be asleep?

Knuckles woke up not long after, yawning. "Good morning," he whispered, not sure if Sonic was awake yet.  
Sonic flinched slightly, then pulled away. "O-oh, mornin', Knux!" he greeted.  
Knuckles stifled a chuckle. "How'd you sleep?"  
Sonic's expression dulled slightly. That's right, he had a dream about _her_ , didn't he?  
"…Alright, I guess."  
Knuckles frowned a little. "Hey, you okay?" he asked softly.  
"Uh, yeah… don't worry, it was a good dream."  
"What did you dream about?" Knuckles asked as casually as he could.  
Sonic blushed, averting his gaze. "Nothin' important."  
"Ya sure?" Knuckles replied. "You were mumbling in your sleep," he added with a chuckle.  
Sonic paused. "I-I was?"  
"Yep, you sure were," Knuckles confirmed. "I'm guessing it was a very interesting dream!"  
Sonic paused at Knuckles' knowing expression. "…How much did you hear?"  
Knuckles blushed. "Enough," he answered, smiling and glancing away shyly.  
Sonic's heart was racing. "U-uh, enough? Er, erm…" He laughed halfheartedly, hoping that Knuckles heard something else. "Y-yeah, I dreamt about my mom, eheh. It was a little embarrassing, so I didn't say anything, y'know?"  
"Yeah, I figured that's what you were dreamin' about…" _Come on, Knuckles, think! How do I bring this up to him?_  
Sonic still wasn't sure. "…Was that all?"  
Knuckles' blush deepened. "W-well, uh… I _miiight've_ sort of maybe heard a _liiittle_ more than that…?"  
Immediately, Sonic was on alert. _He knows…_  
"G-geez, Knux. I-I'm so sorry. You weren't s'posed to hear that…"  
Knuckles gently placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "I-I, um… to be honest, I was actually really happy to hear that…" He was blushing even harder now, his heart beating faster.  
Sonic's eyes widened. "You… what? _Happy?_ " he asked.  
Knuckles nodded. He took a deep breath. "'Cause I…I've always really liked you…" he squeaked nervously. "I-in _that_ way."  
Sonic's face quickly turned red. "S-seriously? I mean, I know I'm awesome, but…" He laughed sheepishly, not expecting that response.  
Knuckles nodded. "I…I never thought you'd like me, though, so I never said anything."  
"Huh? Why wouldn't I?" Sonic questioned. "I mean, you're just as cool as me…" He blushed as he said it, but he meant it.  
Knuckles didn't think his face could flush any worse, but apparently he was wrong. "R-really?"  
"Yeah, really!" Sonic exclaimed, nodding happily. "Why wouldn't you think so?"  
"I-I dunno, I just…" Knuckles glanced down, suddenly looking sad. "I guess I just thought you'd want someone… you know… smarter?"  
Sonic's gaze softened. "Knux… y'don't have to be smart for me to like you…"  
Knuckles looked up. "R-really?"  
"Yeah, really!" Sonic chuckled at Knuckles' doubt, then pet his head. "I meant it… besides, you think I'd just let anyone pet me like you did, heh?"  
Knuckles' face flushed again as his tail started to wag. He was flustered, but he smiled and let Sonic continue petting him.  
"Yeah, no way!" Sonic continued. "You're the _only_ one I'd allow to pet me, heh."  
Knuckles smiled wider. "T-that makes me feel kinda special, hehe."  
"Good!" Sonic said.  
He hesitated, then blushed sheepishly.  
"In fact… uh… you can pet me right now, if ya want?" he offered. "it… _was_ kinda nice…"  
Knuckles grinned. "Sure!"  
He reached over and started scratching in that one special spot behind Sonic's ears.  
Sonic perked at this, immediately starting to purr. "M-mm, Knuuux…"  
Knuckles giggled. "I like it when you purr, it's so cute," he whispered, blushing.  
Sonic's blush reddened. "Y-yeah? Maybe we'll have to do this more often then!"  
"Yeah, we totally should!" Knuckles winked and grinned.  
Sonic, encouraged by his words, smirked and started petting him in return.  
Knuckles' tail started wagging again, his grin widening. He kept petting Sonic as well, the adorable purring making his tail wag even faster.  
Sonic's purring became louder, and he affectionately leaned towards Knuckles' touch.

Their petting antics continued throughout the rest of the day, and both were happier than they'd ever been.


End file.
